By Leicester Mercury | Posted 26 October, 2017
A 'Doctor Who' fan raised hundreds of pounds for LOROS by wheeling a life-size Dalek from Beaumont Leys to the Clock Tower in Leicester.
Paul Weedon, 20, bought the Dalek on eBay a year ago and, with the help of an electrician, rebuilt it with lights and speech.
And the alien invader turned plenty of heads as Paul wheeled it across the city yesterday afternoon.
Paul, who is a drama student at De Montfort University, said: “It was great. People were stopping me to talk and put money in my bucket and people were hooting and even stopping their cars to donate.
“As I passed Leicester College lots of students came out to donate money and take pictures and they were great. It took about three-and-a-half hours to wheel the Dalek all the way into town and it wasn’t easy.
“There’s a big downhill bit on Halifax 
Drive and it got quite comical at one point because I was struggling not to lose control of it. Getting it up and down all the kerbs was tricky, too.”
Along the way, Paul also met two police officers who wanted to pose with the Dalek, as well as one motorist who leapt out of her car with the car’s ashtray, full of her spare change, which she threw in Paul’s bucket.
He said: “Another nice bit was when I passed my grandparents' old house in Marwood Road.
"They both died at LOROS about 10 years ago, which was the main reason for choosing LOROS to raise money for.
“I went past and the family who live there now were at their window and I waved them out and told them all about my grandparents and they were so kind and that meant a lot to me.”
Paul’s aim is to raise at least £500 for the hospice in Groby Road and he said he thought he was well on the way.
He has left the Dalek at the Hansom Cab pub in Humberstone Gate, where he will be collecting more money for LOROS at the pub’s Halloween party on Saturday.
He said: “It’s a sealed bucket so I don’t know how much is in it yet but people were being really generous and some put in fivers and tenners.
“I’ve also got a Just Giving page, where I’ve already raised about £125 and then I’m going to raise more on Saturday.
“I bought the Dalek because I’m a huge 'Doctor Who' fan but since I fixed it up I have made some money by renting it out for parties and things.
“I just thought, why shouldn’t I use it for a good cause as well?”
To donate online visit Paul’s Just Giving page here
